People everywhere are adding usable living space to their residence by doing work in their basements. This makes some great living space that previously has likely been used for storing things or making a place for our washers and dryers. Much of the time when anyone decides to use the basement for additional living space, they will begin the remodeling task alone. This can be an undertaking that is huge and a more complicated job if there is an important factor to deal with like water condensation on the basement walls.
If you have ever had to repair a basement with condensation problems, you might not have noticed the damp appearance of the cinder block or cemented walls, but you will notice the musty damp smell that they often have too. If you are thinking to make real living space in your basement and you have wet walls down there, you will have to repair this obstruction before you begin. Even though you do not desire to ever finish your basement, you still need to remedy the condensation issue anyway because of the eventual water damage it can do to the wood that is exposed to it.
To check your basement walls for dampness, take a large square piece of plastic wrap, perhaps 1 foot by 1 foot, and tape it to the basement wall securely. Leave it for a number of days and then look and see if there is dampness on the inside or outside of the plastic. If there is moisture on the inside then the moisture may be caused from a drip somewhere in the basement, but when it is on the outside, then it is a condensation problem.
If it is a leak making wet walls, they can usually be easily corrected. To remedy condensation, you must find the cause. It could be a dryer with exhaust that is not getting to the outside properly, from hot water moisture from a shower or tub because there is no escape for the moisture, from cooking moisture, from dew, or from dripping basement pipes. Every one of these problems may be fixed and must be before you put up sheet rocked walls in a basement.
Putting in exhaust ventilators in your basement will help discourage any moisture that might build up, especially if there is a shower, tub, or cooking vapors getting down there. Circulating air with a fan might help some. Putting insulation around duct work, pipes, and walls will also help stop dampness. Water can not accumulate on these surfaces if you do not allow the cold air to get to these places.
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